David Blackburn
David Blackburn is the soulmate of Gillian Lennox and the deuteragonist of ''Dark Angel''. ''He is Gillian's long-time crush and classmate, originally dating Tanya Jun. He later joins Circle Daybreak. History David is human, but first experienced the supernatural at a young age. When David was a child, he suffered from appendicitis and briefly died on the operating table. David later tells Gillian that he was surrounded by a bright light and felt a benevolent presence. David sensed the being, whoever it was, loved him but had to let him go, as it wasn't his 'time'. Davd then woke up back in his own body, the doctors being able to resuscitate him. When he was about twelve, David was playing outside during winter, when he saw a young girl making snow angels getting buried under a large pile of snow. David rescued the girl - unbeknownst to him, the girl, Gillian Lennox, was his own age (he mistakenly believing her to be younger than him due to her small size) and she developed a strong crush on him. In high school, David quickly became popular due to his confident demeanour and charisma. He began dating a popular girl named Tanya Jun, promising he would be faithful to her, though he was unaware that Tanya had cheated on him with another student named Bruce Faber. David was also unaware that Gillian loved him from afar and never even noticed her, despite the fact they share several classes. A year before the events of ''Dark Angel, ''David was struggling in English, which he needed to pass to get into university. Tanya helped him cheat on his English literature paper by buying an essay someone else had written online. David apparently regrets this, but felt he had no other choice or he would fail. ''Dark Angel David is the one who finds Gillian in Hillcrest Road, when she emerges from the woods half frozen after dying of hypothermia. He helps her back to her home and makes her comfortable. David is surprised to learn from Tanya that gillian attends their school and is in the same year as them, believing her to be fourteen rather than sixteen. David promises that he will drive Gillian to school everyday so she doesn't get hurt again. When he picks her up he next day, David is stunned by Gillians new look. He wonders how he never noticed her before and also apologizes when she reveals she overheard David and Tanya talking about her the previous night. David finds himself drawn to Gillian and they nearly kiss, until he remembers his promise to Tanya. David drives Gillian to school. At school, Gillian quickly befriends the other popular kids. At the cafeteria, David stands up for Gillian when someone starts spreading rumours about Gillian's mother. When the cafeteria window shatters, David helps get students clear of the broken glass. Later, David overhears Gillian and Tanya arguing, where Tanya reveals she had cheated on him with Bruce. David confronts Tanya and, after an argument, he breaks up with her. David tells Gillian later that he broke up with Tanya and confides how betrayed he feels over it. He confesses that he feels he and Tanya had been drifting apart and reveals his has feelings for Gillian. He asks her if she wants to attend an upcoming 'popular' party with him and Gillian accepts. At the party, Gillian overhears Tanya and another girl named Kim plotting to get revenge on David, by revealing to everyone - including the university he applied for - that he cheated on his English lit. paper and by spreading rumors about him and Gillian. Luckily for David, Gillian's 'guardian' Angel reveals to her she is a lost witch and, with Angel's help, Gillian buys spell ingredients and curses Tanya and Kim so that they cannot carry out their plans. David starts a relationship with Gillian and they are happy together, but David notices Gillian seems stressed and anxious - unbeknownst to David, over her growing concerns that Angel's motives may not be entirely benevolent. Whilst driving with Gillian one night, David reveals Tanya has been admitted to hospital with flesh-eating bacteria in her arm. David is surprised by Gillian's horrified reaction to the news, not realising it's because Gillian is inadvertently responsible. When Gillian starts driving erratically due to Angel trying to force her to crash, so that he can kill David and possess his body, David tries to calm Gillian. Unfortunately, Gillian crashes and David ends up in hospital, but is not seriously injured. When David wakes up, Gillian is at his side. Gillian ends up confessing everything to David, telling him about being a witch, the Night World and Angel. David is unfazed by this, admitting he always felt there was something 'different' about Gillian and that he is in love with her. He also believes her about Angel, revealing to her his own near-death experience. David and Gillian grow closer after the truth comes out, with Gillian realising they are soulmates. David tries to help Gillian stop Angel, recommending she go talk to Melusine and see if she can help. After confronting Angel and learning he is actually a deceased witch named Gary Fargeon, who cannot move onto the afterlife due to accidentally killing a little girl named Paula Belizer, Gillian leads David to the spot in the woods where Gary buried Paula's body. David digs her body up and he and Gillian call the police, saying they stumbled across Paula's body whilst making a snow fort. David stays with Gillian whilst the police take Paula's body away and watches in awe as Gary finally moves onto the afterlife. He and Gillian then stand in the woods together and watch the snow fall. Other novels David briefly appears with Gillian in Soulmate, where it is revealed they have joined Circle Daybreak. David meets with the other soulmate couples at Thierry Descouedres' mansion in Las Vegas and is introduced to Hannah Snow. He is set to appear in ''Strange Fate''. Physical Appearance David is described as being very handsome with dark hair and eyes. He's said to have a "strong" face with high cheekbones and brown skin. Personality David seems to be a kind and conscientious boy, who gets along well with others and makes friends easily. He is very comfortable in social situations and charismatic. He has a reputation for being "wild" and says he used to party a lot. David is brave and cares for the well-being of others, as evidenced when he stopped to assist Gillian after finding her in the road and when he helps move his fellow students out of the way of falling glass. He possessed this trait even a child, rescuing twelve year old Gillian when she was buried under snow. David has a strong sense of morality - he disapproves of Tanya insulting Gillian and stands up for Gillian when other students make cruel comments about her mother. He feels guilty for causing harm to others and makes a point of not pursuing a relationship with Gillian despite his feelings for her, out of loyalty to Tanya, though he breaks up with her after learning she had cheated on him. David's most morally questionable act is arguably cheating on his English lit. paper; however, this was born from desperation not to fail the class and he appears to regret doing this. He is willing forgive people who make mistakes and give them second chances, though a notable case where he didn't do this was with Tanya after he learned she'd cheated on him, likely because of her dishonesty and selfishness in the situation. David appears to be confident and carefree to most people, but possesses a more serious and vulnerable side, which he usually only displays around Gillian, whom he feels he can truly be himself with. David is surprisingly open-minded and accepting of the Night World, possibly because of his own experiences with the supernatural at a young age. Trivia *Both David and his soulmate, Gillian, had a near-death experience and were briefly on the Other Side before being revived. *Like Eric Ross, his soulmate is a Harman witch. *The name ‘David’ can be of Hebrew origin, meaning ‘beloved’. The surname ‘Blackburn’ is believed to have originated from the Scottish town of Blackburn. This surname is thought to mean ‘dark stream’. These meanings can be correlated to the character David Blackburn in the sense that David has dark hair and he was loved from afar by Gillian Lennox long before the two realised they were soulmates. Appearances *''Dark Angel'' *''Soulmate'' *''Strange Fate'' References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Males Category:Deuteragonists Category:Humans Category:Circle Daybreak